On 2009 Monaco Class A, something is amiss with the cutoff switches down near the entry step. One or both of them are not cutting off the batteries and even with me plugged into 50 amp service batteries going dead. All breakers appear good.

One of the cutoff switches is always red and one is always green whether they are on or off.

What is is normal, if on, shouldn't both the coach and the chassis switch have a green light when on if fully charged battery. Does red indicate a low battery?

And if switched off, if everything working properly shouldn't there be no indicator lights on besides these switches?

This is a new to me used coach and it came like this, so assume it could be bad switches or bad solenoids or faulty charger built into my power center. All batteries are new and will charge with my portable charger

Also does the charging system usually charge the chassis battery as well as the coach batteries? And if they work, do you have to leave the battery switches on to charge the batteries?

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I'm sorry I can't help you with your cutoff switches, they sound very different from mine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sky Pilot

Also does the charging system usually charge the chassis battery as well as the coach batteries? And if they work, do you have to leave the battery switches on to charge the batteries?

Many Monaco built coaches (mine included) do not charge the chassis battery when plugged into shore power or running the generator, only the engine charges the chassis battery. It's pretty easy to tell if yours charges the chassis battery: while unplugged, measure the voltage on the chassis battery. Then plug in the shore cord, and measure the chassis battery again. If the voltage stays the same, it is not being charged. If the voltage goes up a volt or more, it is being charged.

I used to have problems with the chassis battery running low while parked, even on shore power. I added a Trick-L-Start and haven't had a chassis battery issue since. The installation is quite simple, just three small wires.

And yes, you usually need to leave the battery switches on to charge the batteries. This is also easy to verify using a variation of the above procedure: plug in and turn on the battery switches. Measure the voltage, then turn off the switch and measure again. If the voltage drops, they are not being charged.

Both these tests rely on a fully charged battery being in the 12.5 volt range, while a battery being charged is in the 13.5 volt range. The actual numbers aren't as important as noting that while charging the voltage will be a volt or more higher.

I cannot find reference to how the lights should show but time to get a voltmeter out and learn some things about the rv. You may be able to download or purchase a schematic from Monaco. It is well worth the price to have those documents.

Some things will draw power even with the switches off without some sort of physical switch on the battery cables.

Do not ever remove any wires without taking pictures first.

Measure the voltage on your chassis batteries with the switch in both positions and with the generator or shoreline providing power. Then do the same measurements on the coach batteries.

Now unplug the shoreline and turn the generator off. Start the engine and do the tests again.

Be sure to write those measurements down. Better yet, print a picture of your batteries and write on the pictures. Keep those in a plastic protector for future reference.

With those measurements we can tell you much more about how they function on your rv.

I would not make any assumption about a switch being defective. The DC systems in these rv's can be very complicated so it is important to gather good information before assuming something is broken.